


Mangoes at the Trader Joe's

by Anonymous



Category: American (US) Actor RPF
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, Meet-Cute, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 01:01:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21728836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Meet-cute at the grocery store, because who wouldn't love some Domestic!Bill?
Relationships: Bill Hader/You
Comments: 14
Kudos: 63
Collections: Anonymous





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ryancantwrite](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryancantwrite/gifts).



_ How the hell do I tell if these are ripe again? _ Bill thought as he stood in the produce aisle of Trader Joe's, eyeing the mangoes. He picked one up, poked at it, then set it back down. There was no point in buying Hannah fresh mangoes for her smoothies if she couldn't even use them because they weren't ripe, was there?

He sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Um, excuse me," a voice said from behind him. 

Bill sighed.  _ Great. I knew a hat was a stupid disguise.  _ He plastered on his 'I love meeting fans' smile and turned around. 

A woman with H/C hair and E/C eyes was standing behind him with a basket. 

He froze. _ Wow, she's beautiful, _ he thought, his fake smile becoming genuine.  _ I guess one picture won't hurt. _

The woman pointed behind him. "I just need to get there."

"Oh, uh, sorry," Bill stammered and moved over so the woman could also reach the mangoes.  _ Way to go, asshole. She didn't even recognize you. She's just trying to get to the fruit. _

He watched as she picked up a mango, smelled it, then gave it a quick squeeze before putting it in her basket, and took the opportunity to do a subtle ring check of her left hand. There was a light line on her left ring finger where a ring must've once resided, but it was currently bare.  _ Divorced as well, then? _

The woman glanced over at him. 

_ Shit _ . She had caught him staring. Bill picked up a mango. "I honestly can't remember how to tell if these things are ripe," he explained bashfully. 

The woman gave him a small smile. "Oh, well you just squeeze it to see if it's soft enough without being mushy, and you can also smell the stem," she replied. "The stem will smell mango-y sometimes." She demonstrated with another mango, then held her hand out. "May I?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, sure."

Instead of taking the mango like Bill expected, she wrapped her hand around his. "Squeeze gently. See how it's firm and doesn't have any give to it?"

Bill swallowed and nodded. "Uh huh."  _ Jesus Christ, Hader, get ahold of yourself. Just because you haven't touched an attractive woman in a non-acting capacity in 3 years doesn't mean your mind has to immediately jump in the gutter when a beautiful woman touches you. _ He quickly put the mango back.

"That means it isn't quite ripe yet." Trader Joe's Mango Lady (as Bill had dubbed her in his head, already mentally drafting a 'missed connections' post to add as an acting exercise in the  _ Barry _ episode script he was currently writing) picked up another one and tested it. "Here, smell this one."

Bill took the mango and inhaled the subtly sweet scent. "Oh, yeah, I see what you mean." He squeezed it. "Yeah, this one is softer than that other one."

"Then that one's ready to eat." The woman picked up another mango, this time putting it back after squeezing. "I take it you don't buy mangoes too often?"

Bill shook his head. "It's been a while. My daughter likes fresh mangoes and I promised I'd have some available for her when she came over to my house this weekend." 

"Ahh, ok." The woman selected a few more mangoes and put them in her basket. "Glad to help, then."

"Thanks so much." Bill switched his basket to his other hand and held his free hand out. "I'm Bill."

"Y/N," the woman replied, taking his hand and giving it a brief shake. "It's nice to meet you, Bill."

"Same to you, Y/N." 

"Well, I hope your daughter enjoys her mangoes. Have a nice day." Y/N turned to walk away.

Before Bill even realized what he was doing, he called out "wait!"

Y/N turned back to him.

Bill blushed red. "Um, can I buy you a coffee or something from the shop next door as a thank you for helping me with the mangoes? To be honest had you not come along I'd probably be standing here staring at them until I gave up and bought canned mangoes instead, then I'd have an annoyed kid on my hands."

Y/N studied him for a moment before nodding. "Sure. I've got a few more things to get, so let me finish my shopping and I'll meet you over there in about 10 minutes?"

"Ok, great, yeah, that's perfect."

Y/N smiled. "Okay."

"Okay. Cool. Okay." Bill shuffled his feet. "So I'll… see you in a few?"

Y/N nodded. "I'll try to finish up the rest of my shopping pretty quickly."

"Okay." Bill turned and headed towards the checkout.

He paid for his mangoes, stashed them in his car, then walked to the coffee shop next door. He sat at a table by the window and fiddled on his phone while he waited for Y/N.

A few minutes later, he heard the chime above the door ring and looked up to see Y/N entering the shop.

Y/N spotted him and headed over. "Hi," she said.

"Hi," Bill replied with a grin. "Ready to order?"

"Yeah, sure."

Bill stood and guided Y/N over to the counter. They placed their orders and waited as their drinks were made, Bill leaving a generous tip before they made their way back to their table by the window. 

The conversation flowed easily, and before Bill even knew it an hour had passed. "So, what do you do when you're not teaching hopelessly lost dads how to check mangoes for ripeness?" he asked. 

Y/N grinned. "Actually, I teach 3rd grade English," she replied.

Bill huffed out a laugh. "Well, no wonder you were so patient with me. My daughter is in third grade, she could probably use a teacher like you."

Y/N winked. "But I guess instead of apples for the teacher she'd bring mangoes?"

Bill laughed. "Actually, the mango enthusiast is my oldest daughter, who's 10. My middle daughter is the 3rd grader and I also have a 5-year-old daughter."

Y/N smiled. "Wow, 3 girls. You must be very proud of them."

"Yeah, my girls are my everything." He took a sip of his coffee. "So, what about you? Any kids?"

Y/N shook her head. "No, no kids of my own. I always wanted kids but my ex-husband didn't, so we never had any." She shrugged. "But I don't really feel like I'm missing out I don't think. In a way I kind of feel like my students are my kids, you know?"

Bill nodded. "How long have you been divorced? I mean, if you don't mind me asking."

"6 years," Y/N replied, then laughed. "At this point I've been divorced almost as long as I was married." She took a sip of her drink. "What about you? I mean, I'm assuming you're divorced as well, since you mentioned earlier that your daughters are coming to stay with you this weekend."

Bill nodded. "Yeah, it's been almost 3 years now. It's been an adjustment, you know?"

Y/N nodded. "Yeah, it was for me too. Sometimes I'm still not used to the quiet around the house. I'll have to put on a record or the TV on in the background just for some noise, or I'll pop my headphones on and listen to an episode of  _ My Favorite Murder. _ "

"Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. When the girls are at their mom's house my place is super quiet, so sometimes I'll do the same." He perked up. "Wait, did you say you listen to  _ My Favorite Murder _ ?"

Y/N's face turned red. "Um, actually, yeah. I'm a true-crime aficionado, I find it fascinating. Like anything to do with murder and mystery-solving." She huffed out a breath. "Sorry, sorry, a lot of people find that weird."

Bill quickly shook his head. "No, no, I love that shit too. Any time I'm home I'm watching Investigation Discovery."

"Oh gosh, yes, me too. My TV pretty much stays tuned to ID."

Bill took a breath. "Hey, um, I actually have 2 tickets to a live episode of  _ My Favorite Murder _ that's being recorded in a few weeks, so… would you maybe want to go with me?" 

Y/N bit her lip. "Yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun." 

Bill grinned. "Awesome." He took a sip of his coffee then glanced out the window, freezing at the sight. 

A giant ad for the new season of  _ Barry  _ was plastered on the side of a bus, which meant that  _ Bill's face  _ was plastered on the side of a bus. He glanced back over at Y/N, who had apparently also looked out the window, presumably to see what he had been freaking out over. Her eyes flicked back over to him.

_ Shit. _ Bill coughed awkwardly. "So, uh, yeah, public transport, am I right?"

Y/N let out a quiet laugh and shook her head. "Before you say anything I think I should probably tell you that I knew who you were even before…" she gestured a hand out the window. "That, so um, yeah."

Bill blinked. "You did?" He knew he wasn't exactly Hollywood elite but he still got his fair share of fans coming up to him for autographs and photos, so the fact that Y/N knew who he was and yet still treated him like a normal person was definitely refreshing.

Y/N nodded. "Yeah, I mean obviously I didn't know when I asked you to scoot so I could get to the mangoes because your back was to me, but when I got a good look at you and you spoke it quickly clicked that you were -- well, _you_. But I'm not going to fangirl at one of my favorite actors in the middle of Trader Joe's, I mean you literally were just trying to buy your kid some mangoes, you don't need that. Then when you asked me to have coffee with you I still felt weird mentioning anything because you seemed so _comfortable_ and I didn't want to ruin that since you're so open about your anxiety and stuff -- well I mean you _were_ comfortable until just now when you saw that ad for _Barry_ \-- which, by the way, is one of my favorite shows, you know, just FYI. It's brilliant, congrats on the Emmys and all."

_ Fuck, she's adorable, _ Bill thought.

Y/N obviously mistook Bill's silence for discomfort, because she winced. "Yeah, so okay, as much as I'd love to attend the MFM live show with you I'm sure you've changed your mind about inviting me since my verbal vomit has undoubtedly made this awkward, so I'm gonna just go ahead and go so I can crawl into a hole and hide for the next hundred years. It was incredibly nice to meet you and thank you so much for the coffee, I really appreciate it. I hope your daughter enjoys the mangoes." Y/N reached for her coffee cup as she scooted her chair back and began to stand.

"Shit, no, wait a minute." Bill's hand shot out to gently grab Y/N's wrist. "Actually, how about dinner tomorrow night?" he asked.

Y/N froze. "What?"

Bill shrugged. "Well I mean just to be clear the  _ MFM _ invite definitely still stands, but honestly I don't want to have to wait until then to see you again." 

Y/N slowly sat down.

Bill let go of Y/N's wrist. "I've really enjoyed talking with you and would genuinely like to get to know you better." 

He smiled reassuringly, holding his hand out for Y/N to shake. "Look, if it'll make you feel better about having recognized me then how about we just start over." 

Y/N gave a soft smile back, taking Bill's hand and giving it a gentle shake. "Hi, I'm Y/N Y/L/N. Nice to meet you. I love your show."

Bill gave Y/N a gentle smile. "Hi Y/N, always nice to meet a fan." He leaned back in his seat. "So listen, I don't normally ask beautiful women that I just met in the middle of Trader Joe's out on a date, but would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow night?"

Y/N giggled. "Well, I don't normally accept dinner invitations from handsome men that I've just met in the middle of Trader Joe's, but yes, I'd love to have dinner with you."

Bill grinned. "Ok, great. Any cuisine in particular you like, or don't like? Dietary restrictions, allergies, etcetera?"

"Nope, no food allergies or anything."

"Ok, cool. In that case there's a cozy little steakhouse near my house that I've been wanting to try, is that ok with you? Say at, 7?" 

"Yeah, that sounds great."

Bill slipped his phone out of his pocket. "Here, why don't you give me your number, that way I can confirm with you after I make reservations."

Bill input Y/N's number into his phone as she dictated it to him, then sent her a text so she could add his number to hers.  **Hi. 🥭**

He repocketed his phone. "I actually need to run, I have a table read to get to, but I'll call you later?"

Y/N nodded. "Okay."

They stood and exited the coffee shop, pausing in the parking lot before going their separate ways.

"I really had a nice time today," Bill said quietly. "I mean, it's always nice to meet someone who likes my work, so of course I really appreciate the compliments about the show, thank you for that, but to be honest you have no idea how nice it is to be able to relax and be normal for a while."

Y/N nodded slowly. "I mean, like I said, you're one of my favorite actors -- I watched SNL when you were on it back when I was in college and you were always my favorite cast member, and  _ Barry  _ really is one of my current favorite shows -- but you're a person first and foremost. You're entitled to your privacy just like everyone else."

Bill huffed out a laugh. "If only everyone else saw it that way."

"Yeah I can't even imagine." Y/N shuffled her feet. "So I guess I'll talk to you later?"

Bill nodded. "Yeah, the table read shouldn't take long, so can I call you in about an hour and a half?"

"Yeah, I should be available."

"Ok then, bye Y/N." 

"Bye, Bill."

Bill watched as Y/N walked towards her car.  _ Yeah, I could definitely see myself with her, _ he thought before walking back to his car and heading to the studio.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!
> 
> I've been busy with other writing projects, but I've decided to go ahead and continue this since I've had some extra writing time. I don't know how long this will be quite yet, but I promise it'll get finished!

"Ok, fantastic job everybody," Bill called out as everyone at the table read got up to leave. "See you all on Monday. Alan, I'll email you those changes tonight." 

He and the rest of the cast of  _ Barry  _ were getting ready to film the season 3 finale and were having a final table read in order to go over some changes that had been made to the script and to see if he and Alan needed to make any more last-minute changes before shooting began the following week.

Normally Bill loved doing the table reads so he could gauge everyone's reactions to the script, but today he was admittedly distracted. Luckily, no one had noticed.

As soon as he was back in his car he tossed his script to the side and pulled out his phone, quickly looking up the number of the restaurant before calling and making a reservation for two for the following evening.

He made his way home and let himself into his house, stopping by the kitchen to put his mangoes in the fruit basket and grab a drink before sending Y/N a text.  _ Just got home. Is now a good time to call?  _

He took a sip as he waited for Y/N's reply, eyes intent on his phone. A minute later his phone lit up.

**Y/N: Actually I had to run back out for a bit. Give me like 30?**

_ Sure. :) _

**Ok, great.** **I'll let you know when I'm back home.**

_ Ok.  _ Bill set his phone down on the coffee table and pulled his laptop closer to him.

After a minute, he pulled up Google and typed Y/N's name in.

The first search result was a website for the school that Y/N taught at. Bill navigated to the faculty webpage, where a professional photo of Y/N smiled back at him.  _ Y/N Y/L/N, 3rd Grade English _ , it was captioned, with her work email address listed underneath.

The next result was Y/N's Instagram, which was private, as was her Facebook.

Bill was starting to feel a little bit like a cyber-stalker -- especially since he himself was not on social media-- so he closed the tab and instead pulled up the  _ Barry  _ script, making the few minor changes that had been discussed at the table read and emailing the revisions to Alan before checking the rest of his email. He replied in the affirmative to his agent's inquiry about his interest in a new magazine interview and about sending some potential scripts over before logging off and closing his laptop.

He got up to refill his water before settling back down on the couch and cuing up an episode of  _ Breaking Homicide _ on the TV. Derek Levasseur was just about to meet with an informant with potential information on his suspect's whereabouts during the day the victim disappeared when his phone lit up.

**Y/N: I'm home, so you can call whenever. :)**

Bill immediately paused the show and unlocked his phone, tapping the icon to dial Y/N's number.

Y/N picked up on the second ring. "Hello?"

Bill smiled at the sound of her voice. "Hey Y/N, it's Bill."

"Hi." She sounded genuinely happy to hear from him. "How are you?"

"Good, I'm good. How about you? How was your table read?"

"I'm good, and it went fine."

"I'm glad to hear that. Can I ask what it was for?"

"Oh, yeah. It's the  _ Barry _ season finale. We've already had one table read for it but my co-writer and I made some changes to the script, so we wanted to read through it again with the cast just to make sure everything works."

"Oh ok yeah, that makes sense. I can't wait to see it on TV -- I bet it's going to be good."

Bill chuckled. "I certainly hope so."

He shifted to where he was laying down on his couch. "Oh hey, so our reservation is confirmed for 7 o'clock tomorrow evening. Did you want to meet a little early, maybe have a drink before?"

"Actually, I--" Y/N was suddenly interrupted by high-pitched barking. "I'm sorry, hold on a second."

There was a shuffling noise and Bill could hear Y/N's muffled voice. "Hey now, hush. It's just Mrs. Jenkins with your Barkbox that accidentally got delivered to her. No need to act like you're gonna tear her face off, she's bringing you new toys you can destroy instead." Bill heard a door open, muffled voices, the door shut, then there was another shuffle as Y/N picked the phone back up. "I'm sorry about that."

Bill smiled, even though he knew Y/N couldn't see him."It's okay. So I take it that you have a dog?"

"Oh, um, yeah, I do." Y/N paused. "You wanna see him?"

"Sure," Bill replied.

"Ok, hang on." 

A few seconds later Bill's phone beeped with a FaceTime call. He switched over to it to see Y/N holding a fluffy tan Pomeranian puppy. "Hi," she said with a smile.

"Hi," Bill replied. "So who's this?" 

Y/N scratched the puppy's head affectionately. "This is Richie."

Bill huffed out a laugh. He could make out the red  _ ie _ of the name embroidered on the black collar the pup wore. "Richie, huh? You really  _ are _ a fan of my work."

Y/N blushed. "In my defense, he reminded me of the Pom behind the 'not scary at all' door and I had just watched IT: Chapter Two in theaters the day before I adopted him."

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I'm actually really flattered. He's cute." Bill cleared his throat. "So anyway, you were saying about tomorrow?"

Y/N visibly relaxed. "Oh yeah, I was gonna say that I honestly would love to have a drink with you before dinner, but unfortunately I can't."

Obviously Bill couldn't hide the disappointment from his expression because she rushed to explain, "I do tutoring on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, so I won't be able to make it to the restaurant until probably right before 7." She bit her lip. "Raincheck though?"

Bill smiled. "Yeah, raincheck." 

He got up to refill his water one last time and passed the TV on his way back to the sofa.

A slow smile spread across Y/N's face. "Is that-- is that  _ Breaking Homicide? _ " 

Bill glanced over at the TV. "Yeah, I'm slowly catching up on it."

"I love that show. Which episode is that?" 

Bill gave her a quick rundown of what had happened so far. "He's about to meet with an informant."

Y/N nodded. "Yeah, I remember that episode. It was a wild one -- maybe we can discuss our theories tomorrow night?"

"Yeah, sounds great."

"Well I should probably run -- I have some papers to grade -- but I'll see you tomorrow?"

Bill grinned. "I'm looking forward to it."

Y/N smiled warmly. "Me too. Have a good night, Bill."

"'Night, Y/N."

Y/N's face disappeared from the screen as she hung up.

Bill finished the episode of  _ Breaking Homicide  _ then got ready for bed, working on notes for new character ideas and plot development for the story arc on the 4th season of  _ Barry _ before heading to bed, dreaming of mangoes and E/C eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up: the date!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy 42nd birthday to Bill!

The next evening, Bill took a deep breath as he got out of his Uber. It had been well over 15 years since his last first date, so needless to say he was nervous.

He took out his phone and opened his text thread with Y/N, quickly scrolling back to their conversation from earlier that day.

He had spent most of the morning working on preliminary script ideas for the next season of  _ Barry _ and had just taken a break to eat some lunch when his phone lit up with a text from Y/N.

**Hey, so it turns out that the student I was supposed to be tutoring this afternoon is home with the flu, so if you're still interested I'd like to take you up on that offer of a drink together before dinner?**

He had hurried to reply. _ Yeah absolutely I’m still interested! Meet you at the restaurant at 6:30? _

**Sounds perfect. :) See you then!**

In his eagerness (and legitimately not wanting to be late) he had left his house 15 minutes earlier than necessary, so he had arrived 15 minutes early.

He was about to send Y/N a message letting her know he had made it to the restaurant when a new text message came in.

**Got to the restaurant a bit early, so I'm sitting in the lobby. Just wanted to let you know!**

Bill quickly tucked his phone back in his pocket and opened the door to head inside. He locked eyes with Y/N, who had looked up when she heard the door open. 

Y/N blinked a few times before standing. "Hi," she said with a genuine smile, walking over to Bill and wrapping her arms around him in a brief embrace.

"Hi," Bill replied, hugging Y/N back and briefly admiring the simple black dress she wore. "You look beautiful."

Y/N tucked her chin down in a bashful gesture. "Thank you. You look really nice too."

Bill had selected a cornflower blue button-down shirt and black suit, leaving the top button of the shirt unbuttoned in lieu of wearing a tie and choosing to wear his glasses instead of contacts. "Thanks." 

He gestured towards the bar. "Shall we?"

"Sure," Y/N replied.

Bill gave his name to the seating host so they could let them know when their table was ready before leading Y/N to a couple of seats at the end of the bar. 

"So, how was your day?" Y/N asked after the bartender had taken their drink orders.

"Good," Bill replied. "Got some work done on season 4 of  _ Barry _ and watched a few more episodes of  _ Breaking Homicide _ . How was yours?"

"It was fine. We had an author/entertainer visit our school today, so it was a pretty easy day.”

Bill nodded. "That's cool."

"Yeah, the kids really loved it.” She let out a gentle laugh. “The younger ones get a bit wiggly when they have to sit still for too long so this guy was perfect. He read them a story then played a few songs and let them dance around to get the wiggles out."

They paused their conversation as the bartender came back with their drinks.

Y/N took a sip of hers. "So tell me about yourself. I pretty much told you my life story over coffee yesterday, so now it's your turn."

Bill chuckled. "Well, what do you want to know?"

Y/N shrugged. "Things I can’t read about online or in a magazine -- your childhood, your interests besides acting and directing, whatever you're comfortable with. I don't want this to feel like an interview or anything." She wrinkled her nose. "Although isn't that kind of what first dates are? Interviews to see if two people are compatible?"

Bill grinned. "Yeah, they kinda are, aren't they?"

He proceeded to tell Y/N about growing up in Oklahoma and how he had decided to pursue acting -- and comedy in particular -- and wound up in New York on Saturday Night Live.

“But then going back and forth was too difficult with the kids, so I decided to leave SNL and move to L.A. full-time,” he finished.

"I was pretty bummed out when I heard you were leaving the show,” Y/N said softly, as not to be overheard by the other bar patrons. “You really were one of my all-time favorite cast members.” She bit her lip. “I think my favorite sketch of yours has always been the one where you played Vincent Price. Your impression was pretty spot-on."

"Oh yeah, that was a fun one." Bill rubbed the back of his neck. "Usually people say Stefon."

Y/N bit her lip and shook her head. "Stefon's iconic, and yeah, you definitely struck gold with him, but you've portrayed so many other great characters as well." She took another sip of her drink then grinned. "You can probably guess my favorite overall role of yours pretty easily."

Bill pretended to think. "Hmm… is it Richie Tozier?"

Y/N laughed gently. "Got it in one. Although Barry Berkman definitely comes a close second."

They were interrupted by the seating host informing them that their table was ready, so Bill got up and held a hand out for Y/N to help her down, then grabbed his drink, keeping ahold of Y/N's hand as they followed the host to their table.

They continued talking throughout dinner, conversation flowing just as easily as it had the day before, and the next thing Bill knew it was 10 PM and the restaurant was closing. 

“This was really nice,” Y/N said as they headed outside to wait for their respective rides. 

“Yeah, it was." Bill smiled and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "So, uh, you still have to tell me your theory about the correlation between H.H. Holmes and Jack the Ripper, so how about we meet up again early next week?"

Y/N bit her lip and smiled shyly. "Yeah, I'd like that.”

"Monday afternoon then? Say around 5? There's this cafe I like to go to sometimes after filming."

"Yeah, sounds great." Y/N leaned up on her toes and gave Bill a quick kiss on the cheek as her ride share pulled up. "Good night, Bill. I had a lovely time with you."

Bill grinned. "Night, Y/N."

He thought back over the details of his & Y/N's date on his way home. Y/N was very beautiful, and interesting, and so…  _ genuine _ . Bill found it so refreshing to meet someone who seemed to genuinely be into him for  _ him _ and not for the Hollywood actor life. 

Bill thanked his driver and got out at his house, being sure to give them a 5-star rating and a good tip.

He took his time getting ready for bed and fell asleep with a smile on his face. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 15 years ago today, Bill made his debut on SNL!

Bill woke up the next morning feeling well-rested. He unplugged his phone and smiled when he saw that he had a text message notification from Y/N that had come in about half an hour earlier.

He opened it and smiled at the attached photo of Y/N's Pomeranian.

**Richie says good morning,** the photo was captioned.

Bill thought a second before responding.  _ Just Richie? _

He got up and slid his phone into the pocket of his pajama pants, then walked into his kitchen. He set his coffee maker to brew and pulled his phone out when it chimed with a new alert. He grinned at a photo of Y/N with a shy smile on her face.

**Ok, maybe I do too. ;)**

He set the photo as Y/N's contact picture then snapped a quick selfie of him winking and sent a text back. _ Then in that case, good morning to the both of you. :) _

Bill thought a minute then added,  _ I had a really good time last night.  _

**I did too. :)**

_ So what are you up to this morning? Getting ready for work? _

**Oh, no, I'm already at school. I came in early to finish up some lesson plans, but now I'm just sitting in my classroom waiting for my students to arrive.**

Bill bit his lip.  _ Got a few minutes to FaceTime then? You can give me a tour of your classroom. _

**Yeah, I've got a few. :)**

Bill switched over to FaceTime as he poured a cup of coffee, smiling as Y/N's face filled the screen. "Hey there."

He could see the dry-erase board behind Y/N and figured she must've been sitting at her desk. "Hey there yourself," she replied with a smile. "How's your morning been going so far?"

Bill grinned. "Actually it's been pretty good since I got to talk to you."

Y/N ducked her head shyly, which made Bill grin even wider.  _ She's cute when she gets flustered. _ "So, how about that tour?"

Y/N stood and pointed the phone behind her, the morning's assignment already written in Y/N's neat handwriting. "That's my whiteboard…" She flipped the camera around and panned it around the room. "And here are my students' desks…" Next she panned over to a small shelf of books. "...And our classroom library." Finally she panned back to her desk, which contained a pencil holder and a single photo of Richie. "And this is my desk."

She flipped the camera back to her. "So that's the grand tour. Exciting, huh?"

Bill chuckled. "I remember classrooms being a lot bigger when I was a kid."

"Yeah, me too," Y/N agreed. "Although I guess everything seems bigger when you're a kid."

"So any big plans for the weekend?" Bill asked. 

Y/N shook her head. "Nah, just hanging out at home. I'll probably be grading tests all weekend."

Suddenly a bell rang.

"I have to go," Y/N said apologetically. "Have a good weekend with your daughters and I'll talk to you later?"

"Yeah, sounds great," Bill replied. "Take care, Y/N."

"You too, Bill. Bye."

"Bye."

Bill hung up and finished his coffee, then proceeded to get ready for the day. He'd been extra busy lately with working on the  _ Barry  _ season finale, so he was excited to be able to spend some time with his girls.

* * *

The weekend flew by and suddenly it was Sunday evening and time for the girls to go back to their mom's.

Bill gave them all a final hug then closed the door after them. He walked over to his sofa and put the TV on, scrolling through the on-screen guide and pausing as he came across the channel listing for Investigation Discovery.

He bit his lip. He hadn't talked to Y/N since Friday morning, but figured she had been just as busy as he had.

He picked up his phone and pulled up their text thread.  _ Hey, I saw that there's a documentary about Ted Bundy airing on ID in about an hour and a half,  _ he typed.  _ Didn't know if you knew about it. _

**I did!** was Y/N's almost-immediate reply. **I managed to get all of my papers graded so** **I was gonna get Richie fed then settle in and watch the show.**

_ The girls just left so I have pretty much the same plan, minus needing to feed a pet. :) _

The three dots appeared and disappeared several times before a new message arrived.

**Is it weird if I say that I'm really looking forward to seeing you again tomorrow?**

Bill shook his head even though he knew Y/N couldn't see him. _No, not at all. I am too._ _I'm enjoying spending time with you._

**Same. :)**

Before he could type out another message his phone buzzed again.

**Hey there's this great little Italian place near my apartment that delivers -- maybe you could come over for dinner and we could watch the show together?**

**I mean if you want.**

**If not it's no big deal, I'll just see you tomorrow afternoon.**

Bill hurried to reply.  _ No, no, that sounds great. I'd like that a lot, actually. _

**Oh ok, great. :)**

Y/N's address followed.

Bill put it into the GPS on his phone.  _ Give me about 45 minutes? _

**Sounds great. We can order when you get here.**

_ Ok see you soon. _

Bill hurried through a shower and dressed in a t-shirt, jeans, and his favorite sneakers. He grabbed his keys and wallet before summoning an Uber and heading out the door.

Miraculously traffic was light so he arrived at Y/N's apartment building a few minutes earlier than predicted. He headed up to Y/N's floor and rang her doorbell.

He could hear Richie barking and Y/N shushing him as her voice carried towards the door. "Now Richie, be a good boy."

Y/N's door opened to reveal Y/N dressed in dark pants and an oversized collegiate sweatshirt. She held Richie in her arms.

"Hi!" she said brightly. "Come on in."

She stepped aside to let Bill in before closing the door behind him and setting Richie down.

Bill chuckled as Richie immediately ran over to him. "Hi, buddy," he said, stooping down and holding his hand out for Richie to smell. 

Apparently Richie gave his approval because after sniffing Bill for a moment he turned around and headed back towards the living room, settling himself on a dog bed that was in a corner of the room.

"He must recognize his namesake," Bill joked as he straightened.

Y/N laughed. "Or else he just has good taste in people."

Bill gave her a brief hug before handing her the bottle of wine. "I figured we could have this with dinner since we're doing Italian."

Y/N nodded. "This is perfect, thanks." She stopped to put the wine in the refrigerator before leading Bill into the living room.

Y/N's apartment was small, but cozy. Bill took in the artwork on the walls, the comfortably worn leather sofa, and the small coffee table.

"It's not much, but it's home," Y/N said.

Bill shook his head. "I like it."

"So how was your weekend?" he asked once they had hashed out their dinner order.

"It was fine," Y/N replied. "I took Richie to the dog park yesterday afternoon but other than that I chilled here and graded assignments." She grinned. "How was yours? Did you get your fill of mango smoothies?"

Bill laughed. "Yeah, Hannah was very happy with the fresh mangoes." 

"Good, I'm glad."

They continued their comfortable small talk until the doorbell rang.

Y/N checked the time on her phone. "Perfect timing. Here, I'll get the door if you want to get the wine. Glasses and corkscrew are in the leftmost kitchen cabinet."

Bill nodded. "Okay, sounds good."

He headed into Y/N's kitchen and grabbed the bottle of wine along with the aforementioned glasses and corkscrew, then headed back into Y/N's living room.

He set the glasses down on Y/N's coffee table then uncorked the bottle of wine and poured them each a glass while Y/N unbagged their food.

They sat quietly watching the show while they ate, then Y/N got up and disposed of their containers during a commercial break. She returned to the sofa, tucking her feet up under her as she sat. "I still can't believe he managed to escape from prison twice," she said. 

Bill nodded. "Probably would've stayed hidden had he not started up again in Florida."

"God, those poor victims." Y/N shook her head. "Geez, I'm gonna need to watch something happy now."

She checked the time. "It's still kinda early, so maybe we can catch something on Netflix if you wanna stick around a bit longer?"

Bill nodded. "Yeah, sure."

He picked up the still half-full bottle of wine. "Want another glass?"

Y/N picked up her glass and held it out to him. "Yes,  _ please _ ."

Bill chuckled and poured them each another glass.

Y/N pulled up her Netflix account. "In the mood for anything particular?"

Bill shook his head. "You choose."

Y/N wound up choosing  _ Ghostbusters _ . "I've seen this a million times, but it's such a good movie," she said. 

Bill nodded. "Yeah it really is. Really great effects for the 80s."

Bill found himself and Y/N subconsciously shifting closer as the film went on, eventually sitting with Y/N's knee touching Bill's thigh.

As the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man exploded on screen, Bill turned to Y/N and smiled as he noticed that she was fast asleep, head propped up on one hand.

He stood and turned the TV off, then took their empty wine glasses to the sink, giving them a cursory rinse before setting them back in the sink to be properly washed.

He then grabbed a blanket off of Y/N's recliner and covered her with it, giving a gentle kiss to Y/N's forehead before quietly letting himself out and making sure that Y/N's door was locked.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and summoned a ride before sending Y/N a text.  _ You looked so peaceful that I didn't want to wake you. Had a great time tonight. See you tomorrow afternoon.  _

He locked his phone and made his way back downstairs to wait for his ride, already planning another date for later in the week.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm currently stuck on my main WIP but am flying through writing this, so expect the next couple of updates to come sooner rather than later!

The next afternoon, Bill walked into Java the Hutt, a kitschy, Star Wars-themed café, to find Y/N already waiting for him.

"I am so, so sorry for falling asleep on you last night," Y/N said as Bill leaned down for a hug. "I just closed my eyes for one second and the next thing I knew my alarm was going off."

Bill chuckled. "It's no big deal, Y/N. Really."

"Let me make it up to you? If you're not busy Wednesday evening, you can come over for dinner? I'll cook."

Bill nodded. "Yeah that sounds great, I'm pretty sure we should be done filming early that day." He bit his lip. "Also I was gonna wait till later in the week to ask, but do you wanna accompany me to the 'Shakespeare in the Park' double feature of _Much Ado About Nothing_ and _Ten Things I Hate About You_ this Saturday? And maybe have dinner after?"

Y/N smiled. "I'd love to."

"Great. Show starts at 4 so I'll pick you up around 3:15?"

"Yeah, that works."

"Awesome."

They made their way up to the counter and placed their orders, Y/N insisting on paying for Bill's. Once their drinks were ready, they headed back to Bill's usual table in the back.

Bill took a sip of his coffee. "So I really am interested in hearing your theory about H.H. Holmes and Jack the Ripper being the same person…"

Y/N brightened. "Oh yeah! Ok, so, both were active about the same time. Holmes was known to go back & forth to the U.K. and definitely could have been there at the time of the Ripper killings. Both were very methodical and had organ harvesting in their M.O. The "Dear Boss" letter was purported to have been written by an American, and finally, eyewitness reports recount seeing a man very similar to Holmes with each of the victims right before they died."

Bill nodded as he thought. "Yeah, that's a pretty compelling argument."

"Interesting to think about, right?"

"Yeah. Maybe he used the Ripper killings as a sort of practice since the methodology was slightly different."

Y/N nodded. "Exactly my thought."

They continued chatting for about an hour or so until Y/N said, "I better get going. Gotta get home to Richie."

Bill nodded. "Give him a scratch behind the ear for me."

Y/N smiled. "Will do."

She leaned up and gave Bill a kiss on the cheek. "I had a nice time. See ya Wednesday, Bill."

Bill watched as Y/N left, his cheek tingling from the feel of her lips. He couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to experience the gentle press of Y/N's lips against his own.

He mentally shook his head. _Nope. Not going there in the middle of a café_. He finished his coffee and stood, throwing his empty cup and lid into their respective recyclables containers before heading out the door.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey, I'm so sorry but I'm going to be late getting home tonight,** Y/N's text said on Wednesday afternoon as Bill was getting ready to leave set.

Bill frowned down at his phone. _ Oh ok,  _ he replied.  _ I'll see you Saturday then. _

**Wait no, I'm not canceling!**

**Just saying that we'll be eating dinner later than I originally planned so if you wanted to come over at 7 instead of 6 you wouldn't have to just sit around while I cook.**

Bill bit his lip.  _ I don't mind coming over early to help if you don't mind someone else puttering around your kitchen with you. _

**That would be really nice, actually.**

**I should be home around 5:30.**

_ Sounds good. I'm about to head home to shower and change, so I'll pick up a bottle of wine and something for dessert on my way over.  _

**Sounds great. :) See you this evening then.**

_ See you. :) _

"In a rush to get somewhere?" he heard from behind him as he repocketed his phone.

He turned as Alan jogged up to him. "Uh, actually, yeah, I have plans tonight."

"Hot date?"

When Bill didn't answer Alan grinned. "Bill, you dog, why didn't you tell me you were seeing someone?"

Bill shrugged. "It's new. Like  _ really _ new."

"Is it anyone I know?"

Bill shook his head. "No, she's a school teacher."

"How'd you meet her? Is she one of your kids' teachers?"

"No, actually we met at Trader Joe's. Remember last week when I said I had to go buy Hannah some mangoes? Well, she helped me figure out how to tell if they were ripe. I bought her coffee as a thank-you and we hit it off pretty quickly."

Bill gave Alan a quick rundown of his and Y/N's first coffee date. "She just made me feel so comfortable, man. I knew I had to see her again, so I asked her out to dinner."

Alan playfully elbowed Bill. "And she actually said yes?"

Bill laughed. "Yeah, and we've hung out several times since then; I went to her place on Sunday to watch a true crime documentary and we had coffee together again on Monday, and besides tonight we also have plans for Saturday."

"Wow, you've seen her five times in less than a week? Sounds like you're really hitting it off."

Bill bit his lip. "Yeah, she's really great."

Alan clapped him on the back. "It's good to see you happy, man. She sounds like a good match for you."

Bill nodded. "Yeah, like I said, it's still really new but I have a good feeling so far."

"Alright, I'll let you go so you can go get ready for your date. See ya tomorrow."

"See ya, man." Bill hurried out the door so he could head home to get ready.

He hurried through his shower, glad that none of his scenes that day had required the use of fake blood, then whistled as he dressed in a button-up shirt and jeans.

He had his Lyft driver drop him off at the shopping center across from Y/N's apartment, where he picked up a bottle of wine and a cheesecake for dessert, along with a treat for Richie.

Purchases in hand, he made his way over to Y/N's apartment building. He headed upstairs and rang Y/N's doorbell.

"It's open!" He could hear Y/N call out.

Bill opened the door and stepped inside to see Y/N cutting up some tomatoes as a pot of water heated up on the stove. "Hey, Y/N."

"Hey," Y/N replied. "Come on in."

"I picked up a bottle of wine and some dessert on my way over." Bill set his bag down on the counter and looked around. "Where's Richie?"

"Oh, I asked my neighbor's son to walk him for me so I could go ahead and get started on dinner. They should be back pretty soon though."

"Ah, ok." He moved to the sink in order to wash his hands. "Alright, put me to work."

"Oh, um, ok, if you wanna finish prepping this salad for me while I get the sauce going that would be great."

"No problem." Bill took over cutting the tomatoes while Y/N quickly cut a block of cream cheese up into cubes and threw it into a sauce pan with some butter and milk.

Bill added the tomatoes to a bowl of lettuce and began slicing up a cucumber. When that was done he added it to the salad bowl and placed a lid on it. "What next?"

Y/N poured some pasta into the now-boiling pot of water. "Take the garlic bread out of the freezer and pop it in the toaster oven for me? It's already preheated."

"Sure thing."

He got the bread into the oven to toast. "Anything else?" 

Y/N bit her lip. "Would you mind stirring this for a minute so I can go change? I jumped right into cooking when I got home so I haven't had a chance to get out of my work clothes."

Bill thought Y/N looked great in what she wore, but nodded anyway. "Sure."

He took over stirring the cream cheese-butter-milk mixture, then paused to drain the noodles when the timer on Y/N's phone went off. He had just returned to the sauce when Y/N came back out of her bedroom, having changed into a flowy top.

She returned to Bill's side, grabbing a canister of grated parmesan cheese and sprinkling some into the sauce while Bill stirred. Y/N grabbed a spoon and gave it a taste, then added a bit more, seeming satisfied with the taste the second time. "Ok, the sauce is just about ready, and the garlic toast should be done in a few minutes."

She turned off the heat and turned to Bill. "Ok, so now that dinner's pretty much ready I can give you a proper greeting, so... " She wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "Hi."

Bill grinned as he hugged her back. "Hi."

"Sorry I was running late. I was supposed to leave work when the bell rang but my principal sprung an emergency staff meeting on us after school."

Bill looked down at her, brow furrowed. "Everything ok?"

Y/N shrugged. "Our Winter Carnival is coming up in about a month and the person in charge of organizing it suddenly quit because her wife got a job transfer out of state, so now it's all hands on deck. Luckily all of the major stuff like entertainment and rides was already booked so my class just wound up getting put in charge of the bake sale."

"That doesn't sound too bad."

"Yeah, that I can handle." She paused. "Thanks for helping with dinner. It's been a while since I've had a sous-chef."

Bill grinned. "So how'd I do?"

Y/N grinned back and shrugged. "Not so bad."

Bill chuckled. "Oh yeah, I'm really good at cutting and stirring," he joked.

Y/N licked her lips. "I just might let you be my sous-chef again… if you wanted to."

Bill reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind Y/N's ear, sliding his hand down to her chin and gently tilting her face upwards. "Yeah?"

Y/N's eyes fluttered closed. "Yeah."

Suddenly Y/N's doorbell rang. Bill inwardly cursed as Y/N blinked and stepped back. "I uh, I should get that."

Bill watched as Y/N opened the door to reveal a young boy on the other side. 

He bent down to pet Richie, who had run inside to greet him. "Hey buddy, how you doing? Have a nice walk?"

"Thanks so much, Noah," he could hear Y/N saying to the boy. "I really appreciate you walking Richie for me."

"It's no problem," the boy replied. "Alright, well, I gotta go finish up my homework before my mom finishes making dinner. See ya, Ms. Y/N!"

"Thanks again, Noah. Have a good night!"

Bill straightened as Y/N closed the door and walked back into the kitchen. "He seems like a nice kid," he said.

"He is," Y/N replied. "His mom works as a nurse at a pediatrician's office, so Noah used to spend a lot of afternoons after school with me until he was old enough to stay by himself for a couple of hours until Linda gets home." She smiled. "On the days I leave work when the bell rings he still comes over to play with Richie."

"Oh hey speaking of Richie, I bought him a homemade treat from the bakery across the street while I was picking up the cheesecake, you mind if I give it to him?"

Y/N shook her head. "I always give him a treat after I take him for a walk, so go ahead. Just make him sit first." She grinned. "I promise he won't turn into a monster."

Bill laughed, then turned to Richie. "Richie, sit. Good boy."

He gave Richie his treat and watched as he wandered over to his dog bed to eat it.

Y/N grabbed the colander of noodles that had been draining in the sink and set them next to the sauce as the timer on her oven went off. "Oh good, the bread is ready."

Bill watched as she pulled the tray of perfectly-golden brown garlic cheese toast out of the oven and set it on a cooling rack on the counter. She gestured towards the plates she had set out. "Ok, so... help yourself."

After they had both gotten some food Y/N grabbed a couple of wine glasses while Bill uncorked the bottle of wine.

They sat down together at the table.

"This looks amazing, Y/N," Bill said. "Thanks for inviting me over for dinner."

"You're welcome," Y/N replied.

Bill took a bite of his alfredo. "Oh wow, this is incredible. I can't believe you really made that sauce from scratch."

Y/N smiled. "It was a team effort."

They finished their dinner and did the dishes together, Bill insisting on helping dry as Y/N washed. Afterwards they decided to move to the sofa for dessert. 

"Movie?" Y/N asked. "I promise not to fall asleep on you tonight."

"How about Ghostbusters 2?" Bill replied. "Since we watched the first one the other night…"

"Sure." Y/N put the movie on and settled down on the couch next to Bill.

Bill watched as she stuck her fork into her cheesecake and took a bite. "Mmm, delicious," she said, licking her lips.

Bill was hit with another urge to kiss her. Instead he took a bite of his own slice. "Yeah, it's great," he replied after he swallowed. 

Y/N took another bite. "Thanks for bringing it."

Bill shrugged. "It's the least I could do."

They finished their dessert and settled back on the couch, Y/N tucking her legs underneath her and leaning into Bill's side. "Is this okay?" she asked.

"More than okay," Bill said honestly. He shifted and put an arm around Y/N's shoulders, fingertips resting lightly on her arm. "Is  _ this _ okay?"

"More than okay," Y/N echoed with a shy smile.

Bill was hit with yet another pang of want.  _ Just  _ _ kiss her _ _ , you idiot _ . 

Before he could make a move, however, Y/N turned back towards the TV. 

Bill inwardly sighed and turned his focus back to the movie as well. 

About midway through the film he caught Y/N looking at him and realized that he had been absentmindedly stroking his fingers up and down her arm. He froze and picked his hand up. "Oops, sorry."

Y/N shook her head. "No, it's okay, I don't mind."

Bill set his hand back down as the movie continued, loving the feeling of Y/N resting against him.

After the Ghostbusters had saved New York City once again and the credits had started rolling, Bill hesitated before moving to stand and stretch. "It's getting late. I better get going."

Y/N stood as well. "Here, let me walk you out."

They walked into the hall, Y/N shutting her door behind them. "Thanks again for dinner," Bill said. "It was wonderful."

"I'm glad you liked it," Y/N replied. "Thanks for helping and for bringing dessert. And I'm sure Richie says thanks for the treat."

Bill grinned. "You're both welcome. So I'll see you Saturday?" 

Y/N smiled. "Yeah. I can't wait." 

"Me either. 'Night, Y/N."

Y/N seemed to briefly hesitate, then she leaned up and kissed Bill's cheek, dangerously close to the corner of his mouth. "Night, Bill," she said softly, taking his hand and giving it a brief squeeze before heading back inside.

Bill stood dazedly outside Y/N's apartment for a few moments before heading downstairs, a bright grin on his face. 

**Author's Note:**

> Ok yeah now I want to write their first date, so possible part 2 coming!


End file.
